Toyota restarts production in Venezuela after six months

Aug 19 (Reuters) - Toyota said on Friday it had
restarted its Venezuelan factory after six months without
producing vehicles because of hard currency shortages, good news
for the South American nation suffering a roiling recession that
has closed many factories

Auto output in Venezuela plunged 86 percent in the first six
months of the year because of shortages of parts, most of which
are imported.

"A few weeks ago, we restarted our assembly operations here
in the Cumana plant for our three models, Corolla, Hylux and
Fortuner," said Rafael Chang, Toyota Venezuela's president, in a
televised event.

The company plans to start exporting cars in the first half
of 2017 as well as supplying the local market, the executive
said. Since last year, Toyota has been exporting parts from
Venezuela as a way of keeping its operations afloat.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)